Philly Union Boss Indicted

116 charges against IBEW officials, city council Dem

One of Philadelphia's most powerful union bosses and the city's Democratic majority leader stand accused of embezzling funds from the workers they claimed to represent.

The Department of Justice indicted International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 98 boss John "Doc" Dougherty Jr. and several other union officials, as well as Democratic City Councilman Bobby Henon, on corruption charges. They face 116 counts of misusing of union funds to serve their own interests rather than those of their members.

"When union leaders misdirect the organization's money for personal gain, they're breaching their obligation to members—and breaking the law," Michael T. Harpster, special agent in charge of the FBI's Philadelphia division, said in a statement. "Such corruption must not go unchecked. No matter how long it takes, the FBI and our partners will investigate and work to hold accountable unscrupulous union and public officials."

The indictment accuses the union officials and Henon, a labor official and the city council's majority leader, of using union coffers as a personal piggybank. They allegedly used their positions to enrich themselves, buying everything from concert tickets to receiving free labor on their homes. The corruption probe conducted by the FBI, Labor Department, IRS, and several other federal agencies found that the group "conspired and agreed to embezzle Local 98 funds for their own personal use and the use of their family members, friends, and commercial businesses."

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